A.N. So first of all, Scorpius was not necessarily dreaming last chapter. It's possible he was, and it's possible he wasn't. : D And once again thanks for reviews etc.

Also, I wasn't sure this chapter was actually going to be posted on time. I've worked over 40 hours, been recovering from vacation, been preparing for classes, celebrated my mother's birthday, been preparing for my father's birthday and just today my father was in an accident (he's fine, but the car is totaled). Yes, it's been a crazy couple of weeks. Anyways enjoy!

You'd act so nervous

Rose groaned as consciousness claimed her. Her eyes felt all gritty and once again she had a weird taste in her mouth. She made what she was sure was a weird face, but fortunately no one was around to see it. A week had gone by and she found herself still dreaming about her best friend every night which was both a blessing and a curse. Sometimes they were nightmares seeing Scorpius with other girls and other times they were dreams she never wanted to wake from. Yet she always did much to her disappointment. Rose reached up and touched her head wincing, she felt like a bludger had hit her full force during the night.

"Hey Rose you getting up sometime today?" Marisa Lang, one of Rose's roommates called out from the bathroom. Rose got along okay with Marisa and her other roommates, but they weren't that close, at least not with Rose. Rose moaned into her pillow in response before turning over, the sheets tangling around her sweaty body.

"It's 11am already." Marisa called out coming in and grabbing her bag from the bed next to Rose's. "Just thought you should know," she said walking out the door. Rose sat up hair a tangled mess on top of her head, eyes still closed. 11am? Already? The teenager pried her eyes open wincing as the sun blinded her. She tripped as she climbed out of her bed, sheets reluctant to give her up and dragged herself to the bathroom.

Scorpius sat in the Hufflepuff common room reading his Transfiguration textbook, having been up since 6am. He wasn't normally that early a riser, although he still got up before Rose did, but he hadn't been able to sleep for more than four hours as of late. The boy sighed as he flipped a page, not really seeing what was on it, but not caring as other thoughts preoccupied his mind. Scorpius noticed his hands shaking as he flipped another page. He would have to tell Rose, secrets had a way of getting out and hearing this from someone else? Things would get very awkward very fast, at least faster than if he told her the truth himself. This secret had been going on for far too long and it was high time there was some sort of conclusion to it.

"Hey Scorpius," a soft, breathy voice interrupted his thoughts; the boy looked up to see Maria Philips, fifth year Hufflepuff.

"Oh hey Maria" he said to the blond blue eyed girl who was watching and smiling coyly at him.

"How's it going?" she said sitting down next to him and leaning in.

"Um fine," Scorpius said backing away from her; she made him a bit nervous sometimes.

Rose stood at the entrance to the common room staring at Scorpius and Maria. The girl was practically in Scorpius' lap. She gripped the book she was holding very tightly as she slipped out past the couple. She took a deep breath as soon as she made it outside and sat down near the lake ignoring the other students. She gripped her cloak tight around her as the temperature had dropped and focused her eyes on the book, if not her thoughts.

"Hey girlie, you figure it out yet?" Rose looked up from the book she had forced herself to concentrate on to see James standing over her smiling knowingly at her.

"What?" Rose was taken off guard, confused as to what James was talking about trying to drag her thoughts away from the book she had managed to lose her thoughts in.

"Remember the other night, you asked me about you and one Mr. Scorpius Malfoy." James prompted as he lowered his lean frame down besides the confused girl.

"Oh. Oh!" The memory struck Rose. "Yea that, I figured it out." She answered in what she hoped was a flippant tone. She didn't want James to get into her business too much. She felt it was best to keep some stuff private from her cousins, if one knew the rest usually knew shortly after. James studied his cousin intently. Her ears were turning pink, he knew not from the cold and she wasn't making eye contact.

"So?" he inquired. Rose shrugged.

"Come on Rose, talk to your cousin James." James pushed a bit more, he thought he knew what was going on, he just liked hearing he was right.

"There's nothing going on okay!" Rose snapped. James smiled, if Rose was this agitated, this nervous there was definitely something.

"Oh ok, I just thought that you had, never mind." James said pushing himself to his feet, he heard Rose sigh behind him.

"Thought I had what, James?" James smiled, she had taken the bait, and he turned slowly to look back at his young cousin who was looking at the ground.

"Oh I just thought that you'd realized that Scorpius fancied you," he said conversationally. Rose opened her mouth to retort than stopped, brow furrowing her head snapping up to look James in the eyes.

"Wait, that Scorpius fancies me?" James snorted at the question.

"Well duh. Blokes can tell these things." He rocked back on his heels and waited for this to sink in. Rose laughed.

"Right sure James. You know these things. That's why Scorpius flirts with other girls," she said somewhat bitterly. James smiled.

"People flirt with people all the time while having feelings for other people," the 7th year pointed out. Rose bit her lip trying to make sense of the sentence, upon succeeding at this she began to think what her cousin had said over. James smiled at his cousin one last time and walked away whistling back towards the castle hands in his pockets a look of satisfaction on his face, not that Rose could see it. Rose got up on her feet and followed in her cousin's footsteps. She had just made it inside when she walked into someone who stopped her from falling backwards by gripping her arms.

"Hey Rose," she looked up to see Scorpius smiling down somewhat nervously at her before he stepped back letting her go.

"Scorpius," Rose said quietly looking at her feet.

"So um," Rose looked up at Scorpius who was a very pale shade of pink, and was wringing his hands, he glanced at her.

"I need to tell you something," Scorpius said. Rose tensed up; she knew it had to do with Maria or some other girl floated through her head unbidden.